The “perfect” pitch Getting money or support for your product, business, club & idea

What is an elevator pitch?

An elevator pitch or elevator speech is an overview of a product, service, person, group or organization, or project and is often a part of a fundraising, marketing communications, brand, or public relations program. The name "elevator pitch" reflects the idea that it should be possible to deliver an elevator pitch in the time span of an elevator ride, or approximately thirty seconds to two minutes. An elevator pitch is often used by an entrepreneur pitching an idea to a venture capitalist or angel investor to receive funding. Venture capitalists often judge the quality of an idea by the quality of its elevator pitch and will ask entrepreneurs for their elevator pitches in order to quickly weed out bad ideas and weak teams.

Pitching?

Why master the art of pitching? Get people interested in your idea Grab people’s attention attention Sell a product or idea to investors, clients, co-workers etc. Clarify what you are all about (people have a short attention span) Raise money Help get to as many people as possible to support your idea If you can't fully explain your product in 4 minutes, maybe it needs more work

How do I get started? Are their any specific rules? Max 4 min. speaking 2+ min. for questions Amount of people? PowerPoint? Who is your audience? Potential clients or existing clients Users (who may or may not be clients) Investors Press The Boss Employees Friends and family (friends down the pub) Classmates Partners The school administration

What makes a good pitch? Focus the pitch on the benefits of the product/app/project first, last, always Starts with a WHY Achieves the objective (and is clear about it!) Good preparation - ask questions before and tailor your pitch to the audience Has a story, a journey Simple Credible Memorable Clear Concise Avoids the technical detail Mentions the team Captures what is unique (differentiate or die) Communicates your passion

Builds confidence Has a hook - excites the audience so they want to hear more Has a goal - next step, call to action Deals with questions Is a dialogue (listen!) Remember that people buy or invest in: – People – On emotion not logic Don't be afraid to think differently Don't be afraid to be controversial See it their way - put yourself in the shoes of your audience What makes a good pitch?

What makes a bad pitch? Not knowing the subject/business Not using concrete examples A confusing message Multiple messages Too technical Too long Irrelevant information The speaker doesn’t understand the market The speaker doesn’t understand the numbers, financials Wrong economics, unworkable business model Unrealistic superlatives (if yours is the best, explain why with evidence) Unexciting Not relatable Doesn’t identify a problem It is not clear what makes the idea new or exciting Not made relevant for the audience

Amber: The worse pitch of all times (on Shark Tank USA)

Structure (HOOK/ STORY) POINT 1: INTRODUCTION AND ASK You introduce your team. Tell us why you are here POINT 2: IDEA AND OBJECTIVES What is the idea Why are you doing it? POINT 3: THE PROBLEM/OPPORTUNITY Clearly articulate exactly what is the problem in your school/country etc. What opportunity are you creating? POINT 4: YOUR SOLUTION So we know the problem, how does your idea have solve the problem?

Alternate structure

Criteria you will be evaluated on Idea: How well is the idea described? How clear is the social aspect? Do you believe the story behind the idea? Scalability: Is the idea scalable in terms of impact? How many people will be influenced by this idea? Does the idea have a social impact? For whom? Value proposition: What “problem” does the idea solve? Research: Who are potential competitors? Is there a need for the idea? Is the idea innovative/better/cheaper in relation to current solutions in the market?

Team: Who makes up the team? Can the team identify the skills needed to make the idea a reality? Does the team have the needed skills? Overall impression of the idea/business/campaign: The credibility of the team Overall impression of the presentation Do the judges believe the idea will actually be turned into a product/club/campaign? It is possible to gain 5 points in each category, and a total of 30 points.